Page 226 - ART OF THE ISLAMIC AND INDIAN WORLDS Carpets, Ceramics Objects, Christie's London Oct..27, 2022

■*207
A LARGE DONEGAL CARPET
KILLYBEGS, IRELAND, PROBABLY
ATTRIBUTABLE TO ALEXANDER MORTON,
LATE 19TH CENTURY
Of Mughal design, overall in very good condition
25ft.4in. x 14ft.1in. (772cm. x 428cm.)
£30,000-40,000 US$36,000-47,000
€35,000-46,000

PROVENANCE:
British High Commission, Pretoria, South Africa
until 1973
Volks Auctioneers, Pretoria, 1973
Volks Auctioneers, Pretoria, 2010, from where
purchased by the present owner
The Donegal company was founded in 1898 by
Scottish textile manufacturer Alexander Morton.
The Arts & Crafts Movement advocated the use of
vernacular traditions and local materials and before
establishing Donegal Carpets, Morton had first
established a carpet crafting house on the west
coast of Ireland and put to practice the techniques
of the Donegal people who had been working with
wool for generations. The company had a wide and
important clientele for whom they wove private
commissions, of which many remain in Britain's
grandest houses including, Dublin Castle, the Royal
Pavilion of Brighton and Eltham Palace.

By 1901 a number of the designs produced
by the company had begun to simulate the
designs of eastern fabrics as well as 'Turkey'
carpets but which were relatively generic in their
interpretation, (Malcolm Haslam and David Black,
Arts and Crafts Carpets, London, 1991, p.102,
fig.65). Unlike those examples, the paired 'leaf
and compartment' lattice design of the present
carpet is derived from a recognisable 17th century
Mughal carpet fragment, north India, acquired
by George Hewitt Myers in 1951 and gifted to the
G W Textile Museum, Washington, R63.006. A
further fragment from a comparable carpet, was
sold in The V. and L. Benguiat Private Collection of
Rare old Rugs, New York, 4 and 5 December 1925,
pl.17. For a fuller discussion on the development
of the flower and lattice designs in 17th century
Mughal India, see lot 200 in the present sale.

The British Ambassador moved residences in
1973 when much of the contents of the house
was sold at auction. The small material insignia
of George V that is applied to the reverse of the
carpet, was applied to various items of furniture,
silver and crockery belonging to the British High
Commission.

224 In addition to the hammer price, a Buyer’s Premium (plus VAT) is payable. Other taxes and/or an Artist Resale Royalty 225
fee are also payable if the lot has a tax or λ symbol. Check Section D of the Conditions of Sale at the back of this catalogue.